Stitches in Bloom - A Quilt Show

The first major quilt show of the year in Oregon is this weekend.  Chris, a wonderful quilter friend, and I drove up yesterday to take it in.  It was held at the Oregon Gardens in Silverton just outside of Salem.  Since it was an almost 3 hour drive from home we left at 8 AM.  The driving time went by quickly as we talked the whole way....what do women find to talk about - well, just about everything!

You are not dropping in to hear about 6 hours of driving and talking so on with the show!

The quilt show is called Stitches in Bloom and the featured quilt was just that.  But for that quilt you will have to scroll through the whole blog to see it as there was no space large enough to hang it at the show.

 Notice the fog and the grass that we are parked on!  This is the over flow parking...

 ...but we made it!

The following pictures are only a small part of the quilts that were there, and not all the quilts had pictures taken of them.  They were all outstanding and made by the best in the quilting world.  

So sit back and enjoy!

 The show was broken into two buildings so Chris and I started in the closest and smallest one.  This quilt was a raffle quilt and it will go from show to show with a drawing sometime in the future!  It takes only one ticket to be a winner so I bought a ticket and so did Chris.

This building held the selected quilts for Oregon: State of Diversity 2. The following is only a few that were there.

Oop's rather dark.  This was one was made with raw edge applique.  Trying to match up quilts with quilters is a quess but I think this one is called "At Ocean's Edge" by Laura Jaszkowski.

The fish were painted on this one while the reeds are hand appliqued on.

And a close up.  Possibly "Spawn" by Kathy Blondell.

"Three Sisters: Clouds Rolling In" by Sheila Finzer.  Looks like a photo!

An odd one but colorful...close up follows.

"Glorious Pears" by Karen Bates.


These were only a few of the quilts in the first (small) building. From here Chris and I walked down to the larger of the exhibition building.  Again, the following pictures are only a few that were there.

Velda Newman was the featured quilter of the show.  This was only one of her quilts featured.  We sat in on one of her lectures and learned that this quilt took her a year to make.  I wish I had taken notes from her lecture.

A more traditional block quilt.

Isn't this a gorgeous one....I have close ups on it if anyone would like to see them.

If you are a quilter you know what Chris is looking at!  What does the quilt look like on the back....???

There was so much talent displayed here...

A pineapple quilt...it could have been because it was Friday but it was quite easy to take most of the pictures without a lot of women being in them. But then women are also very nice to move out of your way when they see a camera.

There were a few men but not many.  This quilt has a feathered star center and there were no cut off tips.

The following pictures are from the 2:30 lecture that Chris and I sat in on.  As mentioned before Velda Newman was the featured artist for the show.  The following quilt was taken out at the end of her slide presentation...

This quilt took Velda two years to complete.  


These have only been a few selected pictures from the many taken.  The show was awesome.  It was a fun day spent with Chris doing what we like best looking at quilts and shopping the vendors!  We both came home with vendor goodies!


Happy Quilting Days!

From Snow to Rains and Flooding

This week has seen us go from snow (just enough to be pretty) to rain to flooding.  There are a lot of positives about living on a river and then there can be the winter when you get the occasional negative.  

Bill and I have just came up from 'down below' and will be going back later in the day.  When the river comes up and leaves us with debris we start early giving it back so it can continue its trip to the ocean.

But the worst year was the year Sarah and Joe were married on the lower lot.  That winter we had a debris pile that was over 10 feet high, 30 feet wide and over 100 long (per Bill).  It took throwing, pushing, and finally 24/7 of burning before it was gone.  The following flood years have been a piece of cake compared to that one.  

So first the snow:

Just enough to be pretty and a treat! (Sorry Mom, I know you have been housebound with lots of this stuff!)

Then the rain and flooding:

This is the pump house that has the water tank and pump for the house.  Today is only Thursday and we are forecast for rain the rest of the week.  Up river is the mountains with snow....so the big question is will the river get that high or not.  


Since we were down below I had to check on what was left of the hornet nest.  If you go back to the summer blog you will find the story about it.  Earlier this winter most of it was gone since the nest is paper based.  Today there is only the last bit left.

But what was never noticed before was a bird's nest in the same tree.

Okay that was our excitement for the morning.  Now for breakfast and back to quilting.


Happy rainy day!

2012 - The Year of Possibilities

I made only two resolutions for the new year.  Most of you can guess what the first one was - start a new quilt, and the other to scan all of my mother's pictures that fill 4 paper ream boxes into a digital format.  The first resolution is a lot more fun but the second will be more rewarding when it is completed.

So on to the quilt.  This one has been on the table for a few months before being started.  I first saw it in Eugene in a quilt store, and then was lucky enough to come across the pattern at Joanne's. I love to do fusible applique and this one is filled with it.  It is also a great way to play with color.

Okay, it is also whimsical which is cute if you are partial to cute on your walls.   It has been a long cold winter so cute will work.

 All 12 squares are done separately before linking. The blocks have four layers: top, stabilizer, batting, and back fabric.   This way it is easy to add as much top stitching and embellishments.  Also, if one of the square doesn't come out then you are only out that one.

All nine squares!  Three more to go.  It is hard not to start putting the squares together but if I did I know I would want to move them around for color balance.  Also Bill and I are in a major discussion on what fabric to use for connecting the blocks.  He likes the red (or any solid color) and I like the black and white stripe.  But we are a couple of weeks away from having to make that decision.



Happy New Year!




 

Almost Made It For Christmas

Bill and I flew to Las Vegas this year to celebrate the holidays with JD, Kelly, and Makenna.  We had a wonderful time being with family.  So let the pictures begin...

 Santa found the new house and left plenty of gifts for all.

Now you can't have Santa arriving without making some cookies for him.  Makenna was a fantastic cookie baker.

The Sweitzer tradition continues!  But now the children read the story of "The Night Before Christmas" to the adults!

Christmas morning and the opening of presents!!  We are never too old to enjoy this part of the day.

 
Santa had a special gift for Kelly - you can't tell from the picture but she had the biggest smile on her face!  You know this lady believes in Santa!!!

Grandma's gift from Santa!  Flamingo toilet paper - I didn't think I was THAT naughty this last year!

Yep, JD in the kitchen.  He is waiting for the cinnamon rolls come out.

Then there was plenty of time to just relax....

And play, and....

And sight-see.  We also went to the Ethel M chocolate factory one evening for their amazing lighted cactus gardens.  Kelly has all the pictures from that...

Before you knew it the days just flew by and we were headed home. Thank you JD, Kelly, and Makenna for a WONDERFUL time.  We miss you already!

We hope everyone's Christmas holidays were as nice as ours was!

The flamingos live on for another year....

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with only the best.

Merry Christmas to All

Bill and I wish all are family and friends a very wonderful Christmas and the best in the coming new year.  We have been so fortunate to have all of you in our lives. 

May the coming new year bring you wonderful surprises, connections with family and friends, and the best that life can offer.

Roseburg has a great little art gallery filled with our local artists' talent.  The two Santa's were found there this week.  The artist who carved them is Jani Brown.  Each piece has a special meaning to me.  The large thread spindle because my Polish Grandmother (Babci) use to work in the thread mill in Norwich, Conn.  That was how she supported a family of six children.

The smaller wooden spool because I sew and this is one of the few wooden spools I have seen.  I thought it was a fantastic fine until I researched it.  The J&P Coats Company and the Clark Thread Company merged in 1959.  This makes me older than the wooden spool.  Isn't that a sorry thought!

If you are really interested in some of the history of thread then you might enjoy the following:

History of Coats & Clark With a rich heritage dating back to the early 1800's, Coats history is interwoven with many key innovations and historic events dating back to the beginnings of the industrial revolution. With nearly 200 years of history to share, we have selected a few interesting facts and images from our archives that we thought you would enjoy.
interesting facts   1806 — Napoleon blockaded Great Britain, making silk no longer available to weavers who had begun reproducing the rare Kashmir shawls of India. At the time, the Clark family had a thriving loom equipment business, and sold silk threads for the warp on the looms. It was at this time that Patrick Clark developed a method of twisting cotton yarns together to produce a thread which was so strong and smooth that it could replace silk in the looms, as well as replace linen and silk threads used for hand sewing as well. 1812 — The Clarks opened the first factory for making cotton sewing thread in Paisley, Scotland. A few years later, another cotton thread mill was opened by James Coats. 1830 — The sons, James and Peter Coats, purchased their fathers' mill, and within a decade, J&P Coats Limited had expanded, with much of its production exported to America. Another member of the family, Andrew Coats, was sent to the U.S. to manage the business. 1864 — George and William Clark, grandsons of James Clark, opened a cotton thread mill in Newark, New Jersey. Five years later, the Coats family began manufacturing thread in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, selling under the name "Spool Cotton Company". Before Elias Howe's invention of the sewing machine in 1846, thread was usually made of three cords and was used for hand sewing. The thread had a glazed finish and was too wiry and uneven for machine use. Twenty years later, George Clark developed a six-cord, soft finished thread. This thread, the first ever suitable for machine use, revolutionized the sewing industry, and therefore he called it "Our New Thread." This became known as O.N.T., originating the still famous trademark for the Clark Thread Company product. 1896 — The company continued to grow by adding new products and innovations, including crochet, darning, knitting and embroidery cottons. O.N.T. was the first genuinely fast black thread and the first American brand of sewing, crochet and embroidery cotton to be offered in a large range of colors, all color fast to boiling. 1935 — Prior to 1935, Coats & Clark companies in the United States sold a wide range of cotton threads and handicraft products but no wool yarns. An agreement was reached with Patons & Baldwins, a British manufacturer of knitting yarns, to make yarn in the United States which would be marketed through the Spool Cotton Company. 1952 — J. & P. Coats and the Clark Thread Co. merged to become Coats & Clark Inc. 1959 — Two important innovations were developed, starting with our first 100% acrylic yarn in 1959, followed by the release of Super Saver 'no-dye-lot' yarn in 1987. 1960's — Coats & Clark created cotton-covered polyester core thread which combined the best characteristics of both fibers making it compatible with new fibers and fabrics which had entered the market. Today, Coats Dual Duty Plus® is the number one selling all purpose thread in the home sewing market. Today, Coats world-wide continues to innovate. Through ongoing research and product development, we explore new fibers, fabrics, finishes and their application for consumer and industrial applications. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

Happy Holidays and the Goodwill Store

The Goodwill Stores are wonderful places to shop for those of us looking for an alternative to Macy's, Neman Marcus and other high price stores.  I do not intend to put them down as I use them for donations and also for jigsaw puzzles and other things. We are blessed that we do not have to depend on them.

Having said that, Rosemary (my sister) and I went shopping in Lacey at the Goodwill store for jigsaw puzzles while we were visiting Grandma this last weekend.  Every now and then in life you find yourself falling into the 'silly mode'. If anyone is offended by this blog, then you can blame me as I egged Rosemary on and then came back with Grandma and pulled her into the sillies also.

Could this also be one of those "Dear Santa" lists?

Hats, hats, and more hats.

  Back View

Front View

Doesn't Rosemary look totally thrilled to be here and posing with the hat that she picked out?  Hey Vern - Do you really think she would like one of these?

Back View

Front View

Gee, I'm glad Bill doesn't read my blogs or I just might find one of these under our tree on Christmas Day!

 

 Back View

Front View

We all should recognize this fine lady and the knitted hat she is wearing.  All of us have one, two or more of her hand knitted hats (if you are lucky!).  She is quite the sport to come to Goodwill and do the 'sillies' also.

 

So much for hats.  All women love just the right handbag to carry all of their essentials in...  (Santa are you getting hints?)

 Could this be high on Rosemary's wish list?

 Or Sue's?

Or Mom's????

If you are actually reading this for hints of Christmas gifts, then continue on.  A woman's wardrobe is not complete without just the right pair of shoes.

Look what Rosemary found just waiting for her....

 

They might not make it through a Kennewick winter but think how snazzy they would be when summer comes.

 

You know, I could maybe get used to these!!!! Dear Santa, please put them on your list.

Rosemary and I did find some hidden gems - jigsaw puzzles and exercise DVD's.  If you are a jigsaw puzzle fan this is the place to find them.  Most of the puzzles have all the pieces.... some don't and are marked (or maybe not) but what deals and then after you finish the puzzle you can either donate it back to Goodwill or pass it along to a friend.  If you have a break room at work then bring one and see what happens.

 Mom and a Goodwill puzzle!

Happy Holidays from all of us :-)

 

 

Oop's

I got so carried away squaring up and sewing the blocks together that I found I was almost through with the project without taking any of the follow-up pictures.  Let's hope that what I took will explain the ending process.

 The black and white material is 4 1/2 inches wide and folded in half.  It is cut the length of the block.  The black with brown stripes is cut at 2 1/2 inches and is the back joining piece.  Place on the finished squared block right sides facing each other. Sew.

  Sew back joiner to second block.  If you do this right then all of your pieces are to the left of the sewing needle.

Slide in batting which was cut at 1 inch.  Fold over the top joiner (black and white material) and stitch down.  Isn't this slick :-)

If this is still a bit confusing refer back to the link in the last blog.  The tutorial instructions and pictures are so much better than mine.

This is the back of the piece.  I like this side better...see lessons learned for the reason why I am not showing the front side!

Lessons learned:  1) Just because you use fabric in the same color or family set does not mean that your quilt will come out looking good.  Always remember to audition where your pieces are going and how they will look next to each other.  This is probably the major reason why the pros have a design wall or space dedicated to viewing their quilts before they are even brought close to the sewing machine. 2) Always stretch outside your comfort zone.  This is where learning begins.

If I had to do it over again I would have crazy quilted the front side.  Randomly using the fabric strips did not work out.  The colors were too jumbled and close together to make sense.  

On the way home from town today I stopped by Chris' house (another quilter and recent retiree).  She has been working on a huge project (a kings size quilt for their bed).  What an awesome job she is doing with it.  Being a hunter and liking elk, she has featured an elk as the center piece.  Next time over I will see if she will let me take pictures.  It is so nice to have another quilter to draw enthusiasm and inspiration from.


Happy learning days!